Movable skyline terminal



8, 1953 J. 5. WILSON MOVABLE SKYLINE TERMINAL -4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 2? 1950 INVE NTOR uomv SHAW WILSON ATTORNEYS Aug. 18, 1953 J. 8. WILSON MOVABLE SKYLINE TERMINAL Filed March 27, 1950 4 sneet s-sheet 2 INVENTOR JOHN SHAW WILSON BY ydhmionhau fi 16.

ATTORNEYS Aug. 18, 1953 J. s. WILSON MOVABLE SKYLINE TERMINAL 7 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 27 1950 mvemon (JOHN SHAW WILSON ATTORNEYS Aug. 18, 1953 J. s. WILSON MOVABLE SKYLINE TERMINAL 4 sheets-sheet 4 Filed March 27. 1950 E \3 50% LN Q! Mm mac u Mb ME 5 N9 8 me M 4 m 3. .M/ y M i i 8 map mm ATTORNEY 5 load lih'.

l atented Aug. l8, l953 e QFFICE MOVABLE SKYLINE TERMINAL .i'oim ShawWils n, Vancouver, firit'ish Columbia, cauada Application March 27, 1950, Serial No. 152,073 9 Claims. (611212-92) This invention relates to a terminal which may be moved to different positions along a skyline used in logging and other industries.

Inthe logging industry, a skyline is a cable which is set up to enable logs to be drawn froma certain area to' a desired point which may be on land or water. A skyline carriage is moved along the line in any convenient manner. A load line extends from suitable winch mechanismthrough the carrier and is adapted to be A dropped to the ground where one or more logs are secured thereto and hoisted up to the carrier. The carrier is then moved to the point Where the logs are to be deposited.- A terminal is fixedl y'secured to the skyline at a point above the position where the logs are to" be deposited. Up to the present time, a second terminal has been fixedly secured to the skyline above the point where the logs are 'to be picked unity the With this arran'gern'ent when it is de-- sired to move along the skylinetoanother position to pick up logs, it has" been necessary to lower the heavy skyline and remcvethe secoiid teiminal therefrom in order that it may be moved to the new osition. This is a comparatively d'ifiiclilt ion and it takes up a great deal of time.-

It is the main surprise or this invention as provide aterminal whim maybe moves along the Skyline by the skylifi'ecarria e. and ifichidihg means for removably securing said tei mi'iial to the line at any desired point without the necessity of lowering the'skyl ine.

Another object is theprovision of a movable skyline terminal which willretain the" skyline carriage in'p'osi't'ion' wnue the load line-islowred to receive a log and to hoist it t'o li fta log above the ground.

While this apparatus is particularly designed for a skyline which slo es upwardly; that-is; logs are moved from a highpoint; such asamean-'- tai'n side, to a lower" po nt; and it is so; described h'efein; it is to be understdoa that: the skyline may be substantially horizontal; With a sloping. line, askyline carriage is drawnupwardly by means of the load line, and mcved downward- 1y under its own Weight. If the skyline is' substantially horizontal or the slope isnot great enough, the carriage may be'nidv'efd downwardly oroutwardly by means of a cable connected to asuita'ble winch mechanism. The terminal forming part or t is invention" isref nea to as another tann n sate the terrain at this is inten ed to iridiat the point where the" legs are tijbe' picked up regardless-er wheth r o'r iiot it is above the stationary or'o'utei' lease the clamping means.

The movable terminal according to this invention consists of a suitable framework having clamping means therein for positioning it on and securing it to a skyline at any desired point. A locking arm adapted to lock and unlock the clamping means is carried by the terminal frame. This arm has a pulley over which the load line from the hoisting winch extends tothe skyline carriage. The locking arm normally holds the clamping mechanism in a locked position,- but it includes another pulley adjacent the first pulley under which the load line may pass so that tension thereon will move the locking armto re- The terminal also includes hook means for holding the carriage while the load line is lowered to pick up a log, then move in the opposite direction to lift said log above the ground.

An example of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in' which,

Figure 1 diagrammatically illustrates a skyline with a skyline carriage between the fixedand movable terminals, part of the carriage being removed to show the working mechanism thereof,

Figure 2 diagrammatically illustrates the carriage at the upper terminal and ready to move the latter to a new position along the skyline,

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the movableterminal alone,

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the movable terminal with the near' side thereof removed,

Figure 5 is aplan view of the terminal,

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line S t" of gure- 3, and,

Figure 7 is a section taken on the line 1'1' of Figure 3'.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, I'll is a skyline which in this" example, slopes upwardly,

- manner 11 is'p' ivotally mounted at l8 b'etween the s'i'de" plates and has a substantially u sna'peii jaw l9 on one side thereof which normally projects downwardly, see the carriage shown in dotted lines at the'left of Figure 1'. This tumbler'has a" projection 2| which just clears the lower portion of a locking tumbler 22 pivotally mounted at 23 when the jaw I9 hangs downwardly. The tumbler 22 has a latch 24 projecting towards the lower edge of the carriage, and a spring 25 tends to draw said latch against a stop block 26. A hook 21 is slidably mounted in the carriage and has an upwardly-projecting prong 28 at its upper end, and is pivotally connected to the locking tumbler 22 by a link 29. A pulley 32 is rotatably mounted in the carriage above the lower tumbler, and a fair lead 32a is located below said tumbler. A load line 38 extends from a suitable winch mechanism 30, see Figure 2, over the pulley 32 of the carriage and has a line ball 40 connected thereto. A tag line 4| extends from the line ball and has a choker line 42 connected thereto in any well-known manner. A slack puller weight 43 may be detacha'bly connected to the tag line in any suitable manner.

A lower or outer terminal 5:: is fixedly secured to the skyline I above the point where it is desired to deposit the logs. This terminal has an outwardly projecting hook i which is adapted to engage the locking tumbler 22 of the carriage when the latter reaches the lower terminal, as shown in dotted lines at the left of Figure 1.

The skyline carriage and its mechanism functions in the usual manner. Assuming that a log has just been released from the choker line 42, the load line 30 is reeled in by the winch mechanism 39. The engagement of the hook 5i with the tumbler 22 retains the carriage at the lower terminal during the first part of this movement. When the line ball 40 passes through the fair lead 33 and enters the jaw I3 of the lower tumbler H, the latter is pivoted so the jaw is in a substantially horizontal position. This moves the projection 2I clear of the locking tumbler 22 to allow the spring 25 to pivot said tumbler into position to release the hook 5|. At the same time, the bottom of this tumbler engages the side of the projection ZI to prevent the jaw thereof from swinging downwardly. Further movement of the load line draws the carriage up the skyline.

The mechanism of the carriage is released by drawing the hook 21 outwardly in a manner described later. This pivots the tumbler 22 to disengage the lower end thereof on the side of the projection of the lower tumbler, thus permitting its jaw to swing downwardly to allow the line ball to drop to the ground. The slack puller weight 43 unreels the load line. When the choker line is placed around a log, the load line is reeled in until the line ball is locked in the carriage by the lower tumbler II, as shown in Figure 1. When the hook 21 is released and the load line freed, the carriage runs down the skyline to the lower terminal.

An upper or movable terminal 60 is illustrated in Figures 3 to '7 of the drawings. This terminal consists of a frame made up of a pair of spaced side plates 6| connected together in any suitable manner. A clamping block 62 is removably positioned between these plates near the top thereof and has a groove 63 along its lower surface which is adapted to fit over the skyline I0. Another clamping block 04 is movably mounted beneath the upper block 62 and has a groove 65 in its upper edge adapted to fit against the skyline. The lower block is mounted for vertical movement i between guides 61 and 88 and the downward movement thereof is limited by a stop 03. A pair of cam levers I2 and F3 are pivotally mounted between the plates at 14 and 75 respectively adjacent their upper ends. These levers have cam surfaces I8 and 19 formed on their upper ends adapted to bear against the underside of the clampin block 64. The lower ends of these levers are connected by a link 02 so that said levers move in unison. A relatively long locking arm is pivotally mounted at 06 near the bottom of the side plates of the carriage and its upper end projects a short way into the carriage. This upper end is connected by a link 37 to the lever 73 and the connecting link 82 at 08.

The locking arm 85 is actually formed by spaced side members and M as clearly shown in Figure *7. A line sheave 93 is mounted between the side members 90 and ill adjacent their outer ends. The locking arm is provided with an extension 85 from one side thereof which has a disengaging sheave 06 at its outer end. The load line 38 also extends between the side members of the locking lever and over the line sheave 03, and it sometimes passes under the disengaging sheave 06, and at other times it passes above it without coming into contact with it.

A locking hook I00 is pivotally mounted on the outer surface of one of the sides SI of the carriage at Hill. This hook extends along the side of the carriage through a guide I02 and beyond the lower edge of said carriage. This hook has a downwardly projecting prong I03 at its outer or lower end. An operating arm I08 is pivotally mounted on the side of the carriage at I09 adjacent the lower edge thereof and im- 'mediately below the hook I00. A lug IIO projects from this arm under the hook and has a roller III which bears against a plate II2 secured to the hook. A lanyard II3 extends from the free end of the operating arm I08 down to the ground. When this lanyard is pulled downwardly, the roller of the locking arm presses against the hook I00 to lift the prong I03 thereof upwardly. When the lanyard is released, the weight of the hook is suflicient to cause it to move downwardly to its lowermost position.

When the carriage is drawn up the skyline, as previously described, to the upper terminal, its hook 21 engages the hook I00 of the upper terminal to raise the latter sufiiciently to allow the prong 28 to get behind the prong I03. This retains the carriage at the upper terminal so that the load line may be released. When this line is released, the weight of the carriage is sufficient to cause it to run down the skyline within the limits of the movement of the hook 21. This operates the locking tumbler 22 to allow the lower tumbler IT to pivot downwardly and release the line ball 40. The slack puller weight 43 pulls the load line out until said weight reaches the ground. When the choker linehas been looped around a log, the load line is reeled in until the line ball is again locked in the carriage by the tumbler Il. When it is desired to allow the carriage to run down the skyline, the lanyard H3 is pulled downwardly to raise the outer end of the hook I00 to disengage its prong I03 from the prong of the carriage hook 27. If necessary, the carriage may be pulled up the skyline a little at this time by the load line in order to take the weight off the hooks 2i and I00 to allow them to operate freely. When the load line is slackened, the carriage runs down the skyline to the lower terminal.

Figure 2 illustrates the carriage I2 hooked to the terminal 60. If it is desired to move this terminal up the skyline, the load line is slackened until the tag line 4| drops to the ground. The slack puller weight 43 is detached from the tag line. The latter is pulled up to a point approximately below the new position for the terminal,

and the line is secured to any suitable object,

such as a stump I20. The load line is now slackened to allow a bight I22 of line 38 to drop to the ground. The line which extends over the sheave 93 of the locking arm 85 is now flipped into a position between said sheave and the disengaging sheave 96. When the loadline is reeled in, it comes up beneath the sheave 96 to raise the outer end of the locking arm which moves the cam levers 12 and 13 of the terminal to release the clamping block 64 from the skyline. Further movement of the load line draws the carriage and the terminal up the skyline to the new position indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2. When the load line is slackened, the outer end of the locking arm drops downwardly to pivot the cam levers I2 and 13 to press the block 6 1 against the skyline and the latter against the outer block 62. The weight of the locking arm is sufficient to retain the terminal in its new position on the skyline for the time being. The load line is now slackened to allow another bight I26 of line to drop to the ground. The load line is passed through a snatch block I21 secured to suitable anchoring means, such as a stump l20. This line is now reeled in sufficiently to pull the outer end of the locking arm 85 downwardly firmly to clamp the terminal on the skyline. When the load line is released from the snatch block, and the tag line freed from the stump [20, the apparatus is now ready to function in its normal manner.

The terminal may be moved down the skyline in a similar manner by attaching the tag line to a stump downhill approximately under the new position to be taken by the movable terminal.

The apparatus functions in the same manner on a substantially horizontal skyline, excepting that it is necessary to attach a line to the skyline carriage to pull it in a direction opposite to that in which it is pulled by the load line.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A movable skyline terminal for removably holding in a desired position a skyline carriage through which a load line from a winch mechanism extends, comprising a frame, means on the frame for clamping the terminal on a skyline, a locking arm movably mounted on the frame, means connected to the arm for operating the clamping means upon movement of said arm, and means on said arm engageable by a load line from a carriage on the skyline for moving the arm, whereby the load line may be used to move the arm to operate the clamping means.

2. A movable skyline terminal for removably holding in a desired position a skyline carriage through which a load line from a winch mechanism extends, comprising a frame, a clamping block fixedly mounted in the frame, another clamping block movably mounted in the frame in line with the fixed block, said blocks being normally spaced apart sufficiently to allow a skyline to pass therebetween, a locking arm movably mounted on the frame, means connected to the arm for moving the movable block towards the fixed block upon movement of said arm to clamp the skyline therebetween, and means on said arm engageable by a load line from a carriage on the skyline for moving the arm whereby the load line may be used to move the arm to clamp and release the skyline.

3. A movable skyline terminal for removably holding in a desired position a skyline carriage through which a load line from a winch mecha- 'through'which a load line from a which mechanism extends, comprising a frame, a clamping block fixedly mounted in the frame, another clamping block movably mounted in the frame in line with the fixed block, said blocks being spaced apart sufficiently to allow a skyline to pass therebetween, cam means for pressing the movable block towards the fixed block, a locking arm pivotally mounted on the frame, means connecting the arm to thecam means, and means on said arm engageable by a load line from a carriage on the skyline, whereby the load line may pivot the arm to move the cam means to clamp and release the skyline between the clamping blocks.

5. A movable skyline terminal for removably holding in a desired position a skyline carriage through which a load line from a winch mechanism extends, comprising "a frame, a clamping block fixedly mounted in the frame, another clamping block movably mounted in the frame in line with the fixed block, said blocks being spaced apart sufficiently to allow a skyline to pass therebetween, cam means for pressing the movable block towards the fixed block, a locking arm pivotally mounted on the frame, means connecting the arm to the cam means, a sheave on the arm over which a load line from a carriage on the skyline extends, and another sheave on the arm beneath which the load line may selectively be placed.

6. A movable skyline terminal for removably holding in a desired position a skyline carriage through which a load line from a winch mechanism extends, comprising a frame, means on the frame for clamping the terminal on a skyline, a hook pivotally mounted on the frame adapted removably to engage a hook on a carriage on the skyline, means connected to the hook and extending towards the ground for pivoting said hook, a locking arm movably mounted on the frame, means connected to the arm for operating the clamping means upon movement of said arm, and means on said arm engageable by a load line from the carriage on the skyline for moving the arm, whereby the load line may move the arm to operate the clamping means.

'7. A movable skyline terminal for removably holding in a desired position a skyline carriage through which a load line from a winch mechanism extends, comprising a frame, means on the frame for clamping the terminal on a skyline, a hook pivotally mounted adjacent one end on the frame, said hook being adapted removably to engage a hook on a carriage on the skyline, an operating arm pivotally mounted on the frame adjacent the hook, said arm being positioned to engage and pivot the hook when the arm is moved, a lanyard extending from the operating arm to the ground by means of which said arm may be pivoted to pivot the hook, a locking arm movably mounted on the frame, means connected to the arm for operating the clamping means upon movement of said arm, and means on the through which a load line from a winch mechanism extends, comprising a frame, means on the frame for clamping the terminal on a skyline, a hook pivotally mounted adjacent one end on the vframe, said hook being adapted removably to engage a hook on a carriage on the skyline, an

operating arm pivotally mounted on the frame adjacent the hook, said arm being positioned to engage and pivot the hook when the arm is moved, a lanyard extending from the operating arm to the ground by means of which said arm maybe pivoted to pivot the hook, a locking arm movably mounted on the frame, means connected to the arm for operating the clamping means upon movement of said arm, a sheave on the locking arm over which a load line from a carriage on the skyline extends, and another sheave on the locking arm beneath which the load line may selectively be placed.

9. A movable skyline terminal for removably holding in a desired position a skyline carriage through which a load line from a winch mechanism extends, comprising a frame, a clamping block fixedly mounted in the frame, another 8 clamping block movably mounted in the frame in line with the fixed block, said blocks being normally spaced apart sufficiently toallow a skyline to pass therebetween, a 'hook pivotally mounted adjacent one end on the frame, said hook being adapted removably to engage a hook on a carriage on the skyline, an operating arm pivotally mounted on the frame adjacent the hook, said arm being positioned to engage and pivot the hook when the arm is moved, a lanyard extending from the operating arm to the ground by means of which said arm may be pivoted to pivot the hook, a locking arm movably mounted on the frame, means connected to the arm for moving the movable block towards the fixed block upon movement of said arm to clamp the skyline therebetween, a sheave on the locking arm over which a load line from the carriage onthe skyline extends, and another sheave on the locking arm beneath which the load line may selectively be placed.

JOHN SHAW WILSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent Booth Aug. 8, 1939 

